Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Coveted Cactus Cochineal

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Imagine something once as valuable as gold or silver and thriving amidst thorny prickly pear cactus.

Naturalist Benito Treviño has the once sought-after treasure growing on his ranch Las Lomitas near Rio Grande City.

“When the Spaniards came to this new world they were in search of gold, silver, and cochineal and not necessarily in that order. So, what is cochineal that was so valuable as gold and silver? Well, cochineal is a small little bug that grows on cactus," said Treviño

When the Spaniards invaded what is now Mexico and conquered the Aztecs in the early 1500s, they were astonished by the colorfully dyed garments worn by natives. Of particular interest was a beautiful hue of red, far surpassing any produced in Europe and the color most coveted by royalty.

Benito carefully harvests the extremely small insect from a prickly pear pad, which is its host plant, crushing it and revealing a distinct reddish color. It takes a lot of dried insects and a lengthy process to produce the desired color.

Trevino says, “In order to protect itself from the sun, and from being seen by predators they make this cottony, silky cover and they cover themselves. This little bug has this color, and this is carminic acid. They make carminic acid because when a bird or something comes and pecks on the little cotton part where they are hiding it burns them because it is an acid. So it is a defense against predators, but also the carminic acid happens to be red in color.”

For decades Spaniards controlled the market on this valuable red dye produced primarily from cacti in the Mexican state of Oaxaca where weather-sensitive cochineal thrived.

Eventually, other dyes were created to replace native cochineal, but natural red is once again gaining favor as a safe dye for fabric and food coloring additives.

“This is really a rebirth for the cochineal industry in Peru, South America, and Mexico where the indigenous people produced it. There is probably a higher demand now than before Columbus discovered America. So, it is an amazing story," added Treviño.